


A Stay at the Ranch

by Purple_ducky00



Series: AU-gust prompts [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Chance Meetings, M/M, POV Bruce Banner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25840963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Bruce Banner is stranded on a ranch until his car gets fixed. The problem is, when his car is fixed, he doesn't really want to leave.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Thor, James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Series: AU-gust prompts [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859422
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	A Stay at the Ranch

The rooster crows. Bruce groans and rolls out of bed. He shouldn’t even be here, except that his car broke down, and the only mechanic around lives at this ranch. In exchange for rooming, the ranch owner asked for help.

“We just lost our cook,” The burly blond had said. “Would you mind helping out as long as you’re here?” Bruce can’t very well say no, given that he is not being charged for a room. He also had a hard time saying no to those big, pleading, blue eyes.

Now, he has to get up at the crack of dawn – something he hates – to cook food for twenty-something men and women. He decides he’s making pancakes and sausage links this morning. One of the men walks in the kitchen after him, asking, “Thor’s got you working already?”

“Yea.” Bruce grimaces. “I’m not a morning person.”

“Tony’s not either. I guess it’s a good thing he’s the resident mechanic and not the stall mucker. Hi, I’m James Rhodes, Tony’s husband.” He sticks out his hand.   
  
  


Bruce shakes it. “Bruce Banner. I don’t suppose you’d be ‘Rhodey?’”

“That’s me.”

“Nice to meet you, Rhodey. Tony’s talked a lot about you, and I only have talked to him for a few hours.” Bruce smiles. “I hate to be a dick, but do you mind waiting a little before you ask for breakfast? I still need to figure out this kitchen.”

Rhodey steps forward. “Sorry, I came in here to help you. I used to help Clint, our old cook, in the mornings, and before you came along, I was making most of the breakfasts. Do you need any help?”

“That would be great.”

Bruce and Rhodey together get breakfast made quickly, and the workers file in and out of the room, getting their plates and filling them. Tony staggers in at the end, blindly making grabby hands. As if on cue, Rhodey places a steaming mug in his hands. Tony downs the hot liquid in one go. Seeming more awake, he hands his mug back to Rhodey. “More?”

“You need to eat something first.” Rhodey gives him a loving look. He fills up two plates and sits at a table with Tony.

Bruce leaves the two to eat privately and heads back to the kitchen to wash some dishes. To his surprise, Thor is at the sink, scrubbing the large griddle. “You don’t have to do that. I can get the dishes.”

“Doing dishes calms me. Need to get away from the TonyRhodey show before it gets R-rated, huh?” Thor’s eyes crinkle understandingly.

Bruce nods. “They’re cute, but I don’t need an eyeful.” Thor chuckles, and they work in companionable silence for a few minutes. “So, what do you all do on this ranch?” Bruce finally questions.

“We have cattle, sheep, and goats that we let graze over the summer. We also raise horses and help abused animals. Rhodey is a horse-whisperer. People come from all over the country to help their rescue horse. We hired him first, and Tony came with him. After quickly realizing Tony’s mechanical touch, we had to hire him as well.” Thor explains.

“We?”

“Ah yes, me and my brother, Loki. He left a good three years ago to do something else. I haven’t heard from him since.” Thor shrugs. “If he’s happy, I’m happy, I guess.”

“Do you deal with a lot of tourists?” Bruce asks. By now the dishes are done and they are sitting at the kitchen island.

Thor shakes his head. “Due to the fact that we help rescue animals, we can’t really allow tourists on the property. Especially since, unfortunately, greenhorns are the ones that treat the animals badly in the first place.”

“Pity.” Bruce says dryly. “I hate tourists.”

“As you are a visitor, wouldn’t you be saying that you hate yourself?” A black man with beautiful golden eyes appears in the kitchen.

“Bam. Bam. Bam. You hit the nail on the head.” Bruce grins.

Thor gestures to the man. “Bruce, this is Heimdall, my foreman. Heimdall, this is Bruce Banner. He is our impromptu cook until Tony fixes his car.”

“Nice to meet you.” Bruce holds out his hand.

“You as well.” Heimdall shakes. “Did Tony give you a timeframe? Those pancakes this morning were delicious.”

“No, he just looked at it last night. It was too late to start on anything.”

Tony clears his throat and knocks on the wall beside him. “Pardon me for interrupting. Your car needs a new engine block. I don’t have one, and I took the liberty of ordering one. The bad thing is that it won’t get here for about a week. Once I have it, your car will be ready in a day or two.”

“Do you mind staying for a week?” Thor asks. It’s those big puppy eyes again, and Bruce can’t go against them even if he wanted to.

“I suppose a week wouldn’t hurt.”

Thor takes Bruce on a tour of the ranch on the second day. Bruce can’t figure Thor out because he gives off the air of a “I’m a lover, not a fighter” 70’s hipster vegan air, but he also won’t hesitate to wrestle with any of the ranch hands, and he will devour over twenty chicken wings in one sitting. Honestly, it’s very sexy of him, and Bruce can’t stop looking.

“Thor, huh?” Tony sidles up to him the one time they are watching Thor wrestle with Erik Fandral.

Bruce shrugs. “Can you blame me?”

“Nope. He never dates, though. I thought he might be ace or aro, but he never talks about it. He’s got plenty of platonic love to spread around. Rhodey and I have a great sex life. I don’t even want Thor.” Tony pats his shoulder and walks over towards his husband.

The fight does not last long, and Thor wins. Natasha Romanov, a wrangler, gives him a large belt that is a sorry copy of a WWE belt. Thor holds it up in the air, and the ranch hands cheer. Thor’s eyes land on Bruce, and he jogs over to him. “How have you been enjoying your stay?” He asks.

“It’s been pretty good. Better than I had imagined.” Bruce admits. “I’m having trouble remembering where I was going.”

“Do you have any prior commitments?” Thor wonders.

“No, I was just driving from my old apartment to Portland. I was hoping to find a job there.” Bruce confides. “I was a school teacher in Pittsburg, but it got old quickly. Kids don’t care about biology of microorganisms.”

“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you would like. You fit in well, and everyone seems to like you. Also, you are welcome to use my father’s old office for any practices you might have. Loki and I have never used it.”

Bruce doesn’t know what to say. “You’d do that for me? Why?”

“The total truth is – I like you… like, _like_ like you. If it were up to me, I’d ask you to stay forever. However, when you decide to go is your choice, so I’m just offering you the stuff you would need if you would want to stay.” Thor blushes a little. “It would make me incandescently happy if you would stay and date me, hopefully marry and/or grow old with me. But if you would like to stay and stay friends, I will hold myself back. If I have made you uncomfortable, and you would like to leave, I understand. Even if you’d like a few days to think on it. Just let me kno- _mfff!_ ” Thor is not ready for the kiss Bruce lays on him.

“I’m going to stay.”


End file.
